If its only running hot sitting in traffic then better fans are a great idea, I absolutely upgraded the fans in my car. But if its also hot when in motion the fans won't help....they don't help above maybe 15mph or so? above something like that they just beat the air and slow it down as if blows past which is why they are on a temp switch, if the car is moving the switch should never trigger.
My 84 sure did! The radiator looked fine but certainly wasn't fine. Not ever after this change. This is clearly overkill for someone with a stockish car, but even with the 5.4l V12 it will sit and idle cool all day. The fan turns on at 75C (167F) and that is as hot as it ever gets. One less thing to worry about. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello. Watch my lips 80s HAD NO COOLING SYSTEM ISSUES. See how clever that was. I never said 84. Maybe get some reading and writing lessons. We were fighting cooling system issues in the 4 valves since they were new cars. Prior models were not an issue. The 308 QV experience was why the entire cooling system was redesigned in the 328. Read. Understand. Then speak.
Funny though, when I mentioned 9 years ago on this forum that I had switched to a 1.1 bar pressure cap, (16 PSI) there were people here that assured me my cooling system (or even my whole engine) was going to explode because nothing in it was designed for the added pressure. Trust the wisdom of the factory, I was told. Well, 20,000 hard-driven miles later, it still hasn't blown up. Then again, I've replaced every single hose in the cooling system--some of them twice--as insurance. (The most expensive cat litter in the world is the stuff they use to clean up coolant spills on a race track, and then charge you for if it was your car that blew a line.) When I bought my car, (in 2014) it had just been factory dealer serviced and equipped with a stock .8 Bar cap. Thus I assume that many people are still operating with that configuration--especially given the common reluctance people have towards modifying these cars from stock, despite 40 years of advancements in material science and automotive engineering best practices.
This is totally normal. Start to get worried if it goes past the 3/4 mark. You can run the heaters full and that will help lower the temps if you really wanted to.
None of the components changed even after Ferrari made the 1.1 bar factory fitted caps. Not surprised a dealer installed the wrong part. Many parts departments do not keep up with factory service bulletins. I ordered some updated 360 clutch parts from one of the countries leading dealers and they had never heard of them and never stocked them. This was at least 4 years after the update.
In normal usage "80s" general refers to the decade 1980-1989 (of which 1884 is a part), where 1980 refers to a specific year so I'm sure its now clear why there is a misunderstanding.
The system is designed to boil when it exceeds the safe operating temp....the boiling provided additional cooling to maintain the desired temperature. Changing the cap defeats the safety system and allows the temperature to exceed the design spec. Its not that you can't do it, it that you shouldn't do it. If you are having a cooling issue, its a lot better to fix the issue rather than treat a symptom which will likely cause additional issues. The car should never exceed 195F, driving at 220F or more is not very good for the engine.
Note: I know it’s very common on the QV’s but not all QV has overheating issue, my 84 never had overheating issues in 18 years I’ve own it, still has the same radiator, radiator fan, thermostat, and water pump. If this is not normal, then there must be something wrong with my car.
Let me first say that I 100% agree that allowing temps to go above 220F is not good for your engine. But as for some of the other statements in your post, I am genuinely baffled about where you may have gotten your information. 1.) Boiling coolant is extremely damaging to your engine. It erodes medal, creates localized and systemic over pressure, and blocks coolant circulation to the very areas where it is most needed. I wish I still had pictures I could post from a motorcycle engine I killed, rebuilt, and killed again in college. The head gasket was blown out completely, and the inside of the head looked like someone had gone to work with an auger bit. 2.) If boiling "provided additional cooling" we wouldn't have pressure caps at all. We would run our coolant loop at regular atmospheric pressure--or even reduce the pressure with a little vacuum so it boiled early. I assure you, this is not the case. 3.) The pressure cap is, indeed, a safety system, but not the way you describe. It's purpose is twofold: first, allow pressure to build in the coolant loop to raise the boiling point of the water/glycol mix--because, as stated above, BOILING is BAD. Second, the cap is designed to vent excess pressure before it builds to a point where the weakest part of the system will rupture. (Usually a hose.) Because when the system vents in an uncontrolled manner like that, the fluid remaining in the engine and radiator will boil instantly, and BOILING is BAD. 4.) The fact that Ferrari originally equipped these cars with .8 bar caps (IE: Atmosphere plus 12 psi) is reflective of the strength of hose and gasket materials they were using. If they felt those "weakest links" could tolerate 1.1 or 1.2 bars above atmosphere, they would surely have done so, because BOILING is BAD, and we want to avoid it. The current factory recommendation is to upgrade to higher pressure caps. Why? Because of better hose and gasket material. Over the past 40 years, the weakest link got a little less weak, thanks to better material science. 5.) Why I definitely agree that if you are having a cooling issue, slapping a higher-rated pressure cap is not a panacea, and you should investigate further, the ability to raise the boiling point of your coolant is absolutely essential. Provided that the cap you select doesn't allow pressures to exceed the ability of the coolant loop to safely contain it, you ARE doing yourself a favor by upgrading. I've been running a 16 PSI cap for 9 years without a single blown hose. Would I upgrade to an 18 psi cap? Probably not. I'm sure my modern hoses could take it, but I'm less sanguine about some of the minor gaskets. I'm genuinely curious where you read or heard about the supposed benefits to cooling that boiling coolant in an engine might provide. If you can point me to authoritative reference that contradicts anything I've said above, I'll happily reconsider. I'm always interested in learning new things. Otherwise though... I'm going to continue to do everything I can to ensure that the coolant in my cars and bikes never boils--because BOILING, AFAIK, is BAD.
Mostly correct. The factory did not recently go to 1.1 bar.They did it in period not because of improved materials but because of the needs of the cars producing more power and more heat. Right or wrong they chose to define overheating as boiling over. The fix was simple, raise the boiling point.
I know I will be told I'm out of context but a lot of people assume à car is overheating just because it is higher than they are used to see and this include myself. I have a 87 Corvette and thought it was overheating and the fan would never kick in. I checked everything and one of the fan wasn't working so I replaced it. No change. I went at reading and found the system was intentionally built to kick in at 240. Émission purpose at idle. So I let it ran at idle and at 240 it kicked in as supposed and was perfect. Never boiled. Never assume anything before knowing how it's built so listen to what RIFLEDRIVER is saying as he KNOWS what he is talking about.
Engineering school followed by a stint doing cooling system design. Boiling removes about 1000times more heat per degree and it's pretty obvious when it happens so you know its time to shut down. I'm not saying you want to boil the system, but it is better than letting temps out of spec which tends to ruin everything. I run 80/20 water/coolant, currently with an 18psi cap. I have nothing against higher pressure caps, but i also have the slowdown light setup to flash when coolant gets to 220F, or oil is below 15psi, or fuel pressure is under 20psi and a few other things that trigger a "shut-down now" warning. Boiling over is the factory shutdown now warning system on the older cars.
We ran our Rodeck Chevys at Bonneville to 260 degrees routinely. They were fine with it for short duration but the Ferrari motor should never get over 230 and that should only be when you are trying to find a place to get off the road.
Some special purpose systems are designed to operate in a boil. Automotive systems are not. It is a total breakdown of its cooling ability.
Yes I know I was only saying that make sure you KNOW how it is intend to work before trying to fix something.
I seem to remember reading that Jaguar had an "running too hot" problem back in the 70's or 80's with a particular model. They fixed the issue by simply changing the readings on the temp gauge on the dash.
I know Kawasaki did on the original Ninja. The factory fix was to install resistor in line on the gauge sensor wire to make you think it was cooler. Jaguar is a British slang word for "Overheating" so that wouldn't surprise me.
I thought it was a loose collection of parts, paint and corrosion traveling in close proximity to one another [emoji6] As a GT4 and Alfa Spider owner I probably shouldn’t throw stones but watching Retropower do some MKII, XJ12 and XKE restorations makes me feel fortunate. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
I have an MGB The gauge is not damped and uses a gas filled capillary tube to move the temperature gauge. So the needle moves considerably. On the gauge from about 8 o’clock to 4 o’clock is shown as N -normal. New users panic as they are used to modern gauges that don’t move! All manner of “fixes” are recommended but ultimately it’s not losing coolant it’s not overheating.
